Dr. Mike Giuliano has announced his intention to retire as head coach of the Georgia Gwinnett College women's soccer program at the end of the current season. The Office of Athletics is planning to honor his coaching and personal achievements during Dr. Mike Giuliano Day during the Grizzlies' regular-season finale on October 21.

Giuliano has been one of the nation's most successful collegiate soccer coaches, amassing 500 career victories across four decades at different collegiate levels, including teams that captured four NAIA national championships.

A total of 102 Giuliano-coaching victories has come while leading the GGC program since 2017. All nine of his teams have qualified for the NAIA national tournament, eight have won conference championships, and most have earned national NAIA rankings during the season, including the current team being ranked No. 22nd.

"I love this college and I love my team, so it is deeply bittersweet to step down and move on into retirement. But the result is that, more than ever, I am enjoying every minute I'm getting to spend with this team," said Giuliano. "You see things differently when you know you are near the end of the adventure. And I couldn't imagine a better group of players to coach in my final season."

Giuliano recorded his 500th career coaching victory in GGC's 4-0 victory at Point University (Georgia) on September 16, 2026. His GGC teams have amassed a 102-67-24 record in 10 seasons.

"Over the past 10 seasons, Mike has made a tremendous impact on GGC women's soccer and on the lives of the student-athletes he has coached," said Executive Athletics Director Dr. Ian Potter while announcing that Dr. Mike Giuliano Day will be part of pregame festivities before a match against Lindsey Wilson University (Kentucky) on Wednesday, October 21, starting at 3 p.m., at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.

"Ten seasons is an incredible milestone, and we want Mike, his family, our soccer alumni, and our entire GGC community to have the opportunity to recognize everything he has meant to this program. We are proud to celebrate Mike and his contributions, and I hope October 21 is a night he will always remember," said Potter.

Further details about Dr. Mike Giuliano Day festivities will be publicly announced at a later date.

Giuliano-coached GGC teams posted two victories over top-ranked opponents, earned the only two NAIA tournament victories in the program's 15-year history, and the 2018 team advanced to the Round of 16 in the national tournament. GGC defeated No. 1-ranked William Carey University (Mississippi) in the final match of the 2018 regular season.

Giuliano won four NAIA national championships while coaching at Westmont College (California), was a four-time NAIA Coach of the Year, and earned 17 conference coach of the year awards. He also led women's programs at Trinity Christian College (Illinois), Santa Barbara City (California), and NCAA Division I San Diego State University, and the men's program at NCAA Division III Wheaton College (Illinois), which played for a national championship.

Giuliano came to GGC after being a successful high school coach at nearby Greater Atlanta Christian in Gwinnett County.

"They say it, but I didn't believe it, that 'You will not believe how fast it all goes by.' Forty-one years ago, I can still vividly remember being that 25-year old kid given an unexpected opportunity to be a head coach of a college team. Over four decades later, it has flown by so fast and now it's time to say goodbye," Giuliano stated. "My grandpa said life is about gathering as many 'lifetime memories' as possible. If that's true, these 41 years, and the thousands of players who have played for me, have given me more great memories than I can possibly say. And this year, we are trying to create one last 'lifetime memory' that I can take with me into the next stage of life. I am a grateful man."

Georgia Gwinnett College hosts Tennessee Wesleyan University on Saturday, October 3, at the Grizzly Soccer Complex, starting at 7 p.m.